Endings and beginnings
by KS Claw
Summary: Kozmotis Pitchiner loses a wife. And somewhere, the Fates That Be lets a new life begin.


They told him that she had fought bravely. _"Like a lioness!"_ One man told him. When the sirens had alarmed of the attack, Ebony had first hidden Seraphina, telling her to stay in her hiding place and to not come out unless she came for her, or unless she heard the sirens again. The sirens always meant that danger was approaching, or it was gone.

_"Mommy loves you, sweetie. Stay safe!"_ Had been her final words to her daughter, according to Seraphina.

Other women had been there too, terrified for their own sake. Everyone knew how cruel and vicious a Dream Pirate could be, and how they loved nothing more than to do horrible things to women.

The pirates had not expected someone to actually fight back.

_"She was so incredibly brave!"_ A woman told Kozmotis. _"She grabbed a spear and used it to hold them off. When she told the rest of us to do the same, it was as if something in us woke up! Some kind of inner courage we didn't know we had."_

The weaker pirates had been easy to frighten off. They said that it had possibly been the captain himself who had shown up, a large and burly monster of a man, who had laughed at the sight of Ebony wielding the spear the way she did. He stopped laughing when she actually tore his sleeve with the head of the spear, leaving behind an angry red stripe that dripped blood onto the cobblestones.

The sound of horns, a sound that meant that the Golden Army was approaching, had alarmed them both. Ebony had reacted with relief, knowing her husband was on the way. The captain of the Dream Pirates had snarled and fought more viciously, determined to take down this defiant woman who dared to mock him by just existing.

And then, something had happened. Some were certain that Ebony had been distracted by something, but by what they couldn't tell. Whatever it had been, it had given the Captain the chance he needed, to move in quickly and stab her fatally in the heart.

She had looked so surprised, someone said. Like that had been the last thing she had expected.

And then the captain had removed his sword and had set off, bellowing for his men to retreat before the Golden Army could reach them.

Kozmotis bitterly remembered what had happened next.

He remembered hearing Seraphina crying, and how he had turned after the sound to see his little girl by her mother's body. He had practically leaped from his horse and run to them, with Seraphina crying helplessly.

_"Daddy, mommy won't wake up!"_

Ebony had still been warm, and her blood had stained the front of her dress something awful. Her hair had come loose from the bun she'd had it in, and he remembered burying his face in it as he rocked her body, first begging her to not be gone, that she was loved, that she was needed by Seraphina, that she was needed by _him!_ All of his words blurred to form a broken, horrible sound that couldn't even be called crying, even as other people gathered around them.

He remembered that he only pulled away because Seraphina embraced him. And he pulled himself together, knowing that he had to be there for her, for her sake as well as his own. Ebony would not have wanted to see him broken down like this.

And so it was with a broken heart, that he let the field medics take Ebony's body away.

He didn't remember much of the funeral. He didn't remember the words spoken, or the tears cried, or the faces of the people giving their condolences. He mostly remembered strangers, who came up to tell him that they wished they had known Ebony better, that they had only seen her that moment, and she had been so wonderfully brave, and how he could be so very proud of her.

_They don't understand,_ he thought idly, _that I was already proud of her._

Somewhere in the middle of the ceremony, it had begun to rain. First a few light drops, but as the ceremony went on, it began to pour more heavily. When everything was over, it was practically a flood, as if the skies were mourning along with the General of the Golden Army.

He would have stood by Ebony's grave all night, if it hadn't been for a small pair of hands tugging at his own.

"Daddy?" Seraphina said quietly.

Kozmotis Pitchiner looked at his daughter. "Yes sweetie?"

"Can we go home now?" She asked. "I'm cold."

For a moment, Kozmotis remembered a day where it had been raining like this. It had seemed like only yesterday, and he and Seraphina had been out. They had gotten home drenched, and Ebony had been furious.

_'Kozmotis Pitchiner, so help me, if your shenanigans gives our daughter the flu…'_

Kozmotis smiled sadly, before he reached down and picked Seraphina up.

"Let's go home." He said quietly, "momma wouldn't like it if you caught a cold."

And with that, the two walked away, leaving the cemetery behind.

—-

_An inspiration…_

_An inspiration to so many…_

_In such a short time…_

_The Fates find you worthy…_

_You will be the inspiration of many…_

_All that is art…_

_All that is music…_

_You will be an inspiration…_

_Our little Muse…_

_You have a past._

_And you will know it in time._

_But to preserve your mind_

_You must first_

_**Forget.**_

When she woke up, the sun was shining. She was lying on the edge of a lake, the water gently washing over her waist, her body half submerged in the water. She was naked, the only cover she had being the mud that she was lying in.

She sat up slowly, looking around in mild confusion. She was in a valley, surrounded by tall mountains, and covered in lush, green forests. She blinked in confusion and looking out over the lake. The sunlight shimmered, making her squint as she covered her eyes from the glare.

And yet, it was as if the light was speaking to her…

_You are a Muse. You will be one of many._

_But for now, go into the world and learn._

She stood up, stretching out slowly. Then, she took a moment to clean herself of the mud, before looking down herself.

On some point, she felt she should be bothered by her nudity, but the weather was nice and the sun was warm. She could probably handle herself until she found something to cover herself with.

And with a small smile, the Muse began to walk.

A/N: There are plenty of fan headcanons that suggest, that Kozmotis Pitchiner only thought about his daughter, because he had lost his wife early for some reason. In my case, I wanted to do more with my character, Ebony, than just let her die in childbirth or simply be taken by Fearlings. I might write more if I get inspired to it, but if people want to see more of Ebony, they can check out my tumblr .com


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